#David Graeber hate squad 4ever

[osmanthusoolong]

I keep seeing David Graeber quotes, and they remind me so much of those like, aesthetic/literary posts that circulate here. You know the ones. The ones with like, a pithy quote from some translated classic literature, a couple movie stills that feel applicable, a line from a currently popular midcentury poet, a Romantic painting, etc. No context, all vibes, possibly even creating the opposite context of any of the works.

It feels very similar to me, a theory version of these aesthetic collages: (Reasonable statement, one I may well agree with)(historical example cherry-picked beyond belief and so removed from its original context that the author complained publicly)(another historical example, but the author is long dead and/or is choosing the relatively disputed theory that fits the claim but is considered extremely fringe)(conclusion that feels very plausible if you don’t actually look into the citations for the previous). It just feels like repeating back what people already want to believe, making up a history to back it up instead of just letting arguments stand.

Given that even people who agree with Graeber who look into his claims and citations keep coming back to the fact that not a single one of his points pan out, actually say what he’s claiming or even talk about what he’s claiming, it’s high time to give the fucking hack a rest. It’s just plausible sounding truisms and vibes-based history from someone who absolutely had to be doing this badly on purpose.

#David Graeber hate squad 4ever #his bullshit jobs theory is just Marxist alienation but stupid and patently disprovable